Talk:Google to invest in alternative energy

"According to the company press release, one gigawatt is enough to power a city the size of San Franscisco." For how long? --156.56.128.128 14:46, 30 November 2007 (UTC)

Forever is the short answer. A gigawatt is a rate of power, not a quantity of energy. Think of a 100W light bulb, it requires a 100 watts to shine at its designed level. As long as it gets that rate of power it will keep shining until it burns out. If you leave that bulb on for 10 hours you will have used 10 hours times 100 watt or 1000 watt-hours. Your electric company will bill you for how many watt-hours you have used. --SVTCobra 15:40, 30 November 2007 (UTC)

For scale a gigawatt is a billion watts, so it could power 10 million 100 watt light bulbs. --SVTCobra 15:44, 30 November 2007 (UTC)